At the CAD Midwest Technology Expo in Kansas City Tomorrow Sept. 30 2008

Tomorrow September 30th I will be presenting about AutoCAD, Autodesk Impression, Autodesk MyFeedback, and to the Kansas City AutoCAD Users Group KCAUG on the future of AutoCAD. I will be cutting it close as my flight lands at 12:05. My first presentation on AutoCAD 2009 is at 1:45 to 3:00PM and I am sharing the session with Autodesk’s Pete Southwood speaking on AutoCAD Map 3D and GIS.

This will be the tenth annual event. A full day Autodesk products event with over 40 sessions of workshops, presentations and tips and tricks sponsored by Autodesk Premier Solutions Partner Mid-West CAD.

Registration is required.
http://www.mwcad.com/
http://www.mwcad.com/CADMW08.pdf

My presentation and discussion on the future of AutoCAD will be at 6:00 to 7:30PM to KCAUG (please RSVP).

I will be going to Jack Stacks BBQ in Lees Summit for a bite after the event then flying back home Wednesday morning. In keeping with my invitations to chat while traveling, If you are an AutoCAD user and interested in a discussion about AutoCAD with your team at your office or over a cup of coffee, please send me an email.

Has anyone else noticed the changes to airlines flight patterns? Over the past few months I have been tracking my flights and noticed a dramatic change in paths and angle of climb and decent. I confirmed this unofficially with a pilot that it was due to gas consumption. So flights are now making more direct flights and less time flying around an area by making a smaller flight path to the airport. What caused me to wonder was that I was no longer seeing commercial aircraft on landing approach above my house and instead they were making a tight turn farther up the Salt Lake Valley for their landing approach decent. I use the same equipment I use for my hiking navigation and logs. I use a handheld Garmin GPS to track the flight pattern and the best software for analyzing GPS tracks is TopoFusion Pro.

Cheers,
Shaan

Attention AutoCAD Users Shape the Future of AutoCAD Now

We have a simple and easy online survey for AutoCAD users to provide their feedback and opinion for future AutoCAD development.

Please take a moment and complete this as it helps shape the future of AutoCAD and we want your participation and feedback. This survey will also appear in your AutoCAD Communication Center but don’t wait, provide your feedback now.

AutoCAD Future Survey

Happy Friday,
Shaan

Interview with Autodesk Founder John Walker – Part 3

Kean Walmsley has now posted part 3 of a 4 part series of interviews with Autodesk founder John Walker who started Autodesk 26 years ago. This has been a great read to understand Autodesk and AutoCAD back in the early days a sort of Autodesk 1.0. Only one more part to go next Friday.

Part 3 teaser excerpts
”From the outset the architecture of AutoCAD was intended to be as open as possible.”

“because they don’t have $150,000 for an Intergraph workstation”

“One huge contributor to AutoCAD’s success was the book Inside AutoCAD.

“I met Gates and I asked him, "why didn’t you come after us?" And he said…"

“AutoCAD, to my knowledge, did something in the software industry that has never, ever happened with any other product. It sold more than a million copies at more than $1,000 a copy.”

“A Wall Street analyst … he said, "they’re all going to fail, you’re going to succeed, and you’re going to succeed because they all under-estimate the power of the franchise and of an installed base. That you have. They don’t have community colleges teaching their products, they don’t have shops with ten stations that are buying three or four more.”

Go give it a read:

Part 1 – Autodesk’s early history

Part 2 – AutoCAD’s architecture & APIs

Part 3 – Autodesk’s eco-system and strategy

Part 4 – Past and future opportunities

Thank you Kean!

AutoCAD Plant 3D ~ Groovy Piping?

OK so it is not shipping just yet, but if you are a bleeding edge piping designer then this is for you. You can be considered for the alpha and beta testing phases of the product starting now. Stella is the codename in the beer themes for the Plant group following Guinness and others. Did you know Stella is also Latin for star? At least for me I still immediately think “STELLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" from the movie ‘A Streetcar Named Desire .stella.wav

Follow Ursula’s posted details including a groovy screen capture showing Stella at work. Groovy AutoCAD Plant 3D "Stella" Alpha 1

Cheers,
Shaan

Technorati Tags: Autodesk,AutoCAD,CAD,Design,AutoCAD Plant 3D,PIping,3D,Process Plant,Process Piping,Plant

Autodesk Gallery at One Market Opens in San Francisco

 

There is now an official press release.

Autodesk Gallery at One Market Opens in San Francisco, Showcasing Design Process

For images and more information about the Autodesk Gallery, visit http://www.autodesk.com/thegallery.

The Autodesk Gallery at One Market

Now I can show the photos I took and discuss the Autodesk Gallery from my perspective. I also heard it called the Autodesk Design Gallery and I liked that name better as it highlights Design which I got a sense of while there.

 

I was at the One Market office and now including a new Autodesk Gallery located along the Embarcadero looking directly at the historic landmark San Francisco Ferry Terminal with stellar head on view. We have many of our offices and teams located in the same One Market building. I was there for a customer design validation event looking at the future of AutoCAD and getting the customer feedback with the AutoCAD Product Design Team that was held in the new Autodesk Gallery in the most high tech training room I have ever seen. We had high tech walls and even 4 high definition projectors.  The view looking out the front windows is priceless and beautiful. You can see down the waterfront, the Ferry Terminal, and the Bay Bridge all from the location of the Design Gallery. The Gallery has also been has been submitted for a LEED Platinum CI certification. I even bumped into Autodesk CEO Carl Bass while there but he was quite busy getting ready for the grand opening of the Gallery.

Design has never played a more important role in turning change into opportunity. Everyday, Autodesk customers are recreating the world around us and how we experience it – new and innovative processes to things never before seen. This gallery showcases some of that daring work and illustrates the ways an idea can become real.

The Design Gallery showcases many great products and projects from architecture, auto design, to the large Bay Bridge new span. Immediately as you step off the elevator you are presented with a large airplane turbo prop engine. The architecture of the space is modern yet relaxed like that of a gallery. Each area has information and nice pullout information drawer panels to see more about the projects. It was excellent to see that we have taken the high road and list all design software used in the projects not just Autodesk. Most anyone realizes that when a claim that a large product or project was done completely in one design software is stretching real world reality.

Jason Medal-Katz was the circus leader to put this all together and he did a fantastic job. Some of the products and Projects A large LEGO sculpture (62,000), The Bay Bridge Model including models of the rebar and tension cable which combine many smaller cables, a Ford Shelby GT 500 yes a car on the second floor instead of on the road. I tried to sneak the GT 500 down the elevator but it was too heavy and would not fit. I even got to use the One Laptop per Child laptop. There was also a model Chrysler Super Bee Concept Car in the Gallery.

Here is the complete list of items represented in the Gallery:

• Ford Motor Company – Shelby GT500
• The LEGO Group – LEGOLAND Mega Model
• Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Arup, Stantec Architecture, SWA – California Academy of Sciences
• FIRST Robotics – FIRST Robotics Competition
• 42 Surfboards – Hollow-Body Surfboard
• Yves Behar/fuseproject – One Laptop per Child
• Virtual Cinematography – Intersense and Autodesk
• California Department of Transportation; Bay Area Toll Authority; California Transportation Commission; Parsons Brinckerhoff; T. Y. Lin/Moffat & Nichol A Joint Venture – Bay Bridge Seismic Safety Project
• Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP – Cathedral of Christ the Light
• The Permasteelisa Group – Double Skin Facades
• ADEPT Airmotive – Airplane Engine
• Black Diamond – Cobra Ice Axe
• Herman Miller – the Mirra Chair
• Chrysler – Super Bee Concept Car
• SHoP Architects – 290 Mulberry
• Vandenberg Air Force Base/Digital Globe – WorldView1 Satellite Launch
• Bruce Beasley – GS022 (Sculpture)
• Robert Michael Smith – Paradise Bird Burlesque (Sculpture)
• Keith Kottingham – 3D print artist
• Jason Salavon – Print artist, US Census Bureau data
• Spark Design Awards – Various
• Technology lab includes: FARO 3D scanning equipment; Dimension Printing 3D printer; Perceptive Pixel multi-touch wall; Augmented Reality display

There is technology everywhere from the high definition visual displays on walls to the audio all run by high tech computer system behind the scenes that allows full control of the video and audio to the different sections of the Gallery. Some of the walls are high tech as well and fold up up into themselves changing the spaces.

I was in awe of the Gallery and I had only one minor complaint. As a photographer/shutterbug traveling without a tripod or external lamps with me, the lighting was difficult to take photos in due to the bright sunlight coming in from the big windows and the dimly lit interior to best show the exhibits on display. I said minor as most are interested in the exhibits themselves, not the white balance of the location required to take a photo without a tripod. 🙂

The Autodesk Gallery will be open starting October 1, 2008, the first Wednesday of each month from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. to the public. If you are in San Francisco down by the waterfront, stop on in.

More of my photos of the Autodesk Gallery are located on my Flickr Photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/btl/ or Autodesk Gallery tagged photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/btl/tags/autodeskgallery/

Cheers,
Shaan

AutoCAD 2009 and AutoCAD LT 2009 Update 2

In an effort to continuously improve Autodesk products AutoCAD 2009 and AutoCAD LT 2009, we have are now releasing the AutoCAD 2009 Update 2 after customer beta testing at Autodesk MyFeedback (http:\\myfeedback.autodesk.com).

This update is to address customer reported issues through product support, discussion groups, subscription support, emails, and reported to the Product Feedback form on Autodesk.com reached by going to www.autodesk.com then selecting Contact Us > Feedback > products or (Autodesk Product Feedback Form) which goes directly to the product team members email and in most cases is responded to.

This update also addresses issues reported by customers sending in the Customer Error Report CER reports. CER reports are the dialog that shows up when you crash Autodesk products and asks for any detailed information what you were doing and you email. We then get this anonymous information and look at what the xml stack trace tells us and determine the culprit and then determine a possible fix and prioritize it. I cannot stress enough if you want to get a problem fixed to be sure to send in each and every CER report whenever you get one. Make sure to add any additional information and your email so we can follow up. Also when you enter your email, you will be notified when your problem has been corrected.

This new AutoCAD 2009 Update 2  is now available on the Updates & Service Packs for AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT page and well as notification soon in your AutoCAD Communication Center Live Update feature. Don’t forget to read the ReadMe document as it contains some important information such as supported products, install and uninstall steps as well as known issues.

• AutoCAD Updates & Service Packs
• AutoCAD LT Updates & Service Packs

Updated location of available Update 2 downloads:

AutoCAD® 2009 Update 2 (please note Update 2 includes all fixes in Update 1)

 AutoCAD 2009 Update 2 – 32bit (exe – 23635Kb)

 AutoCAD 2009 Update 2 – 64bit (exe – 30498Kb)

 Readme (html – 58Kb)

So what’s in it?

Updates have been made in the following commands and features:

Update 1

• 3D Visual Styles
• Annotation Scaling
• External References (xref) Palette
• HATCH
• Partial Open
• PLOT
• Properties Palette
• Raster Images
• Remote Text (rtext)

Update 2

• 3DORBIT
• Annotation Scaling
• Blocks
• HATCH
• LAYER
• MATERIALS
• Menu Browser
• OPEN/SAVE
• PLOT
• Properties Palette
• PUBLISH
• RENDER

The following defects have also been fixed:

3D Navigation Tools

Update 2

• When you use the ViewCube in some drawings, AutoCAD freezes.

.NET API

Update 1

• When a .NET function with a LispFunction attribute has the return type as object, an exception is thrown in AutoCAD.

Update 2

• If you create a wipeout object through .NET API, a fatal error may occur.

Annotation Scaling

Update 1

• A drawing that contains a large number of anonymous blocks and copies of annotative entities created in AutoCAD 2007 or an earlier release opens slowly in AutoCAD 2009.
• A scale is infinitely enumerated when you insert a drawing that contains the same scale as a block or an external reference (xref).

Update 2

• The scale of annotative text changes when you use LISP entmod() to change the properties of the annotative text.

Attributes

Update 1

• When you attempt to display a tooltip of a multiline text (mtext) attribute that contains 281 characters or more, AutoCAD crashes.
• When you move a block using an insertion grip, mtext attributes move incorrectly.
• When the default value of an mtext attribute in a block contains a field, you cannot edit the attribute text to replace the field with other data.

Update 2

• When a drawing contains xrefs, the -ATTEDIT command fails.

Autodesk Buzzsaw

Update 2

• In the File Navigation dialog box, when you use the Add a Buzzsaw location shortcut option, AutoCAD crashes.

Blocks

Update 1

• When you insert or redefine a block that contains attributes on a locked layer, AutoCAD crashes.
• When you change the scale of a block through the Properties Palette, an attribute displays incorrectly.

Update 2

• When you copy and paste a dynamic block, associative hatches do not work.
• After you redefine a block definition, associative hatches in dynamic blocks display incorrectly.
• When you open a drawing, a polyline in a block may have a very large width.
• After you open a drawing, some dynamic blocks lose their dynamic properties.

Data Extraction

Update 2

• Data Extraction cannot finish operations in some cases.
• The Data Extraction Combine Record Mode > Sum values option does not work correctly.

DGN Support

Update 2

• When you import some DGN files, AutoCAD crashes.

DIM

Update 2

• If alternate units is on and you edit dimension text, the alternate units text is duplicated.

Export a Layout to Model Space

Update 1

When you export a layout to model space the following occurs:

• The linetype scale changes.
• Dimension arrowheads do not display.
• Text does not rotate correctly.
• Drawing properties are lost.

Update 2

• If .NET 3.5 Service Pack 1 is installed and you use the EXPORTLAYOUT command on some layouts, AutoCAD may stop responding.

External Reference ESW

Update 1

• The External References palette does not display when auto-hidden and used with the XREF or IMAGE commands.

Find

Update 1

• When you use the FIND command, AutoCAD does not remain zoomed into an object.

Update 2

• The FIND command performs slowly when you search for text.

Groups

Update 2

• Rollover highlighting does not go away.

Hatch

Update 1

• When you recreate a hatch boundary, it consists of separate line segments rather than a closed polyline.

Update 2

• When you bind a drawing with an xref that contains annotative hatches, AutoCAD crashes.

Hide/Shade

Update 1

• When you plot, objects in an xref are not correctly hidden.

Update 2

• When you use the HIDE command with a drawing that contains text, some objects may not be hidden.

Image

Update 2

• When you attach a corrupted raster image to a drawing, AutoCAD crashes.

Layer

Update 2

• When you zoom to a locked viewport, the Layer palette updates

Layouts

Update 2

• When you attempt to switch layouts in drawings, an Out of Memory crash may occur.

Materials

Update 2

• When you import a 3DS file with texture, AutoCAD may crash.

Menu Browser

Update 1

• You cannot access the menu browser in a non-English version of AutoCAD using the shortcut Alt+Key.

Menu/Toolbar

Update 2

• Some menu macros do not work.

Multileader (mleader)

Update 1

• When created on a rotated UCS, an mleader does not respect POLAR or ORTHO settings.

Update 2

• Mleader custom arrowheads are not brought over to the drawing from the Tool palette.

Multiline Text (mtext)

Update 1

• When you drag and drop a drawing while the In-Place Text Editor is active, AutoCAD crashes.
• When some of the values in the In-Place Text Editor are changed, AutoCAD crashes.
• Some mtext objects with double byte characters display as a single line.

Update 2

• When you edit mtext in a viewport, it may be duplicated in other viewports.

Open/Save

Update 1

• When you attempt to save a file with a long file name, AutoCAD may crash.
• When you drag and drop a file from Windows Explorer into the AutoCAD title bar while in Single Document Interface (SDI) mode, AutoCAD may crash.
• When you attempt to open multiple files from Windows Explorer, only the first selected file opens.

Object Snaps

Update 2

• Osnaps on polylines and mesh objects do not work correctly.

Partial Open

Update 1

• When the OPENPARTIAL system variable is set to 1 and you use the PURGE command, drawings may become corrupted.

Plot

Update 2

• When you plot upside-down, an OLE object does not plot correctly.
• A drawing that contains hatches and gradients may plot slowly.
• When plot area is set to View, AutoCAD LT may crash.

Properties Palette

Update 1

• In the Properties palette, the Dimension Style control may display an incorrect dimension style name.

Publish

Update 1

• In the Publish dialog box, the Publish To setting always defaults to DWF format even if you select a different setting.

Update 2

• When you attempt to publish multiple sheets with PUBLISHCOLLATE=1, only the first sheet of the set is plotted.

Quick Properties

Update 1

• When you change the theme of your operating system while running AutoCAD and then click the Quick Properties window, AutoCAD crashes.

Update 2

• When you edit multiple mtext objects through the Quick Properties palette, AutoCAD crashes.

RECOVER

Update 1

• When you open some valid drawings, you are prompted to use the RECOVER command.

Render

Update 1

• When you use the RENDER command with certain drawings that contain textured objects, AutoCAD crashes.

Update 2

• When you render some drawings, AutoCAD runs out of memory.

Ribbon

Update 1

• When acad.CUI is loaded as a partial CUI, some buttons in the mtext ribbon contextual tab fail.
• On a ribbon panel, you may not be able to move items between rows.
• A ribbon panel continues to display after it is removed from a ribbon tab.
• A button image used on a ribbon panel that is loaded from a resource DLL file lacks a transparent background.
• If you transfer a ribbon panel and a tab, buttons display small.
• Enterprise, main, and partial CUI files display multiple ribbon tabs in workspaces.
• You cannot control a ribbon tab when you use more than one non-AutoCAD CUI file.
• A ribbon tab and/or menu macro may not function properly when referenced from multiple CUI files.
• If you load a CUI file that ref
  erences a missing BMP file, a fatal error displays.

Update 2

• If the ribbon is displayed and you select portions of a mtext object that contains multiple formats, the mtext object becomes distorted.

Selection

Update 2

• When you select objects in groups, AutoCAD may crash.

Tables

Update 2

• When you edit text with space before or after the text within a table cell, AutoCAD crashes.

Text

Update 2

• When you move text to a new position within a drawing, it disappears.

Tool Palettes

Update 2

• When you attempt to edit the properties of multiple Tool Palette tools, an Out of Memory crash may occur.

Visual LISP

Update 1

• The AutoLISP Redraw function fails to hide or highlight objects.

ZOOM

Update 1

• When you zoom while inserting some blocks, AutoCAD crashes.

Please keep sending in the CER reports and CIP data to improve Autodesk products for all.

Sincerely,
Shaan Hurley

Autodesk Research on Command Usage from CIP Data

 

I have been telling people during my presentations and here on the blog to enable the Customer Involvement Program (CIP) to better the products. This is in addition to sending in the CER reports when you crash.

The CIP data does nothing but tell us without impacting your anonymity or performance how you use our products. This data allows us to know common commands sequences and hardware so we can make better decisions based on the data from day to day users of the products instead of relaying on surveys, interviews, calls, and perhaps using a dartboard.

The Autodesk Research group has been slicing and dicing data to better understand the top commands and then the top 3 most common following commands. Command clusters are also important and understanding one commands paths to other commands.

Beyond just a a cool chart, the data can help us figure out better ways to provide tools and menu structures to work more like you do and also what the most common hardware and environment is being used. Imagine a trend of a series of commands and we figure out that we could reduce the sequences clicks or picks saving you time and increasing productivity.

Now for the cool charts based on the millions of individual pieces of data sent by product users so far. Click on them to see more details.

Surprise the top command is ERASE. The three most common commands after ERASE are: ERASE, MOVE, and COPY.

 

 

 

 

It is not just AutoCAD it is other Autodesk Products such as Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Revit, 3ds max etc.

Here is Revit and holding consistent with AutoCAD, BUTTON-DELETE is the top. The three most common commands after BUTTON_DELETE is, ANNOTATIONS-DIMENSION, and EDIT-MOVE.

 

 

 

 

Here is 3ds max and still holding consistent with AutoCAD, UNDO SCENE OPERATION is the top of the commands.

 

 

 

 

Here is Inventor, but apparently we Mechanical designers and engineers do not make mistakes as DELETE, UNDO, or ERASE are not the top command APPROTATEVIEW is.

 

 

 

 

Please keep sending in the CIP and CER data to continue improving the Autodesk products you use.

Thank you,
Shaan

Autodesk Subscription Website has a Brand New Look

Subscription customers should immediately notice the new look and feel of the Autodesk Subscription Website. http://subscription.autodesk.com/

In addition to the fresh new look and integration of a single sign-on with many other Autodesk web sites, it now also supports 12 languages. Initial customer feedback is very positive.

Cheers,
Shaan

Autodesk Tangible ViewCube

I was walking through the Autodesk San Rafael offices last week and passed Brian Pene’s office. What caught my attention was he was playing with something wireless and his screen with a 3D building model was updating. I had to stop and ask what it was. It was the Tangible ViewCube (yes View+Cube are joined and trademarked as one word).

Think of it as the Autodesk ViewCube in real life and much better for manipulating a view than a Nintendo wii besides you look more professional than telling your boss why a gaming system is needed in your office. I saw other cool and practical things in Brian’s office, but I cant talk about those just yet.

Read Scott’s blog post on the Autodesk Tangible ViewCube device including a link to a video.  Autodesk Tangible ViewCube

Cheers,
Shaan

And One Hairy Legged Ugly Guy in the Back of the Aircraft and AutoCAD Tip

This is really what I heard over the planes audio system when a Southwest airlines flight from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas was preparing for takeoff. Indeed there was a guy in the back wearing shorts with hairy legs and waving who then said “I am here to make the rest of the crew look good”. I have to hand it to Southwest Airlines for some of the happiest and funniest airline employees.

I see myself as that same role here at Autodesk as I am here to show off all the cool stuff they do and make them look good. I am fortunate enough to stand on the shoulders of many very smart and dedicated developers, QA testers, designers, product managers, and many more deskers behind the scenes. Hopefully I make them or what they create more visible.

AutoCAD Tip: Where do I find blocks and symbols?
It has been a hidden gem in AutoCAD for a few releases named AutoCAD DesignCenter,
AutoCAD Command :ADCENTER or use CTRL+2 keys

 

You can search through files for blocks, leaders, layers and more and drag and drop content from other drawings.

There is the option tab to search the DesignCenter online blocks “DC Online” which is essentially all of the blocks with the former Autodesk product Autodesk Symbols but free inside AutoCAD. I know there are well over 100,000 symbols/blocks in DC Online and perhaps many more as I did not spend the time to count them.

There is also the new Autodesk Seek online which is free and has tons of content in AutoCAD DWG, DWF, Revit formats, DGN, PDF and even SketchUp SKP files. Currently it is in beta and primarily architectural but watch Autodesk Seek grow as it partners with more and more companies and catalog vendors and aggregates the content for use by millions of designers around the world.

Now back to my Saturday night fun of photographing some scorpion specimens I received today all very dangerous or known as “hot” like an Egyptian fattail scorpion Androctonus crassicauda with almost the same lethal venom as a cobra LD50. I like to photograph them under ultraviolet light as they fluoresce and glow. I also got one large mean Kuwait Camel Spider and he was really hungry. I hope to see these invertebrates in the wild next month while in Turkey, Kuwait and Dubai.

Here is a photo of a past ultraviolet photo of a scorpion which makes a great desktop wallpaper. If you watch or subscribe by RSS to my Shaan’s Flickr Photostream, you will see my photos when I post them.

Cheers,
Shaan (the hairy legged ugly guy in the rear of the plane)